The ongoing Zone 5 senior Beach Volleyball tournament which kicked off on Wednesday, December 21, in Bujumbura, saw each country, except Rwanda, represented in both men and women categories.

It remained unclear why the country was not represented at the tournament until Philbert Mucyo, the Secretary-General of Rwanda Volleyball Federation (FRVB), blamed poor planning by the tournament organizers among major factors behind the issue.

"There was bad coordination between tournament organizers and our team. That’s why Rwandan teams weren’t able to attend the competition,” Mucyo told Times Sport in an interview.

"Every year we plan and allocate budgets for all tournaments that are communicated in due time,” he explained.

Mucyo added that the calendar of the regional beach volleyball showpiece could not allow the federation to plan for the tournament either.

When pressed for details, Mucyo pointed out that organisers communicated the tournament schedule late after the federation had already approved its annual budget. Hence, there was no budget for the tournament.

The 2022 Zone 5 senior Beach Volleyball tournament is underway in Bujumbura, Burundi, returning to action for the first time since 2019 due to covid-19 interruptions.

The tournament is happening for the first time since Rwandan Fernand Ruterana was elected president of the Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB) Zone V in October 2020.

The four-day competition, which will run until Saturday, December 24, has attracted teams, men and women, from Uganda, Kenya, Burundi and Tanzania.

The champions in each of the men and women categories will be rewarded a USD500 cash prize while the first and second runners-up will take home USD300 and USD200.

The regional tournament will also see the winners score points that will help them improve on the FIVB Beach Volleyball rankings.